


beasts hiding in the light (searching the one of the dark)

by Sigulinde



Series: Of names and stars [3]
Category: Fire Emblem Heroes, Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Bonding, Fallen Heroes, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Worldbuilding, non-binary Summoner
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-05
Updated: 2021-03-05
Packaged: 2021-03-18 20:29:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,168
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29863659
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sigulinde/pseuds/Sigulinde
Summary: Azura's request to call Corrin doesn't go as expected for Kiran.
Relationships: Aqua | Azura & My Unit | Kamui | Corrin, Líf & Summoner | Eclat | Kiran
Series: Of names and stars [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2158419
Comments: 1
Kudos: 8





	beasts hiding in the light (searching the one of the dark)

**Author's Note:**

> it was a gift then and is a gift now: happy birthday leo, hope u doing good! uwu

Kiran sighed.

It was a well-known secret that summoning was tiring for them, and lately they had been summoning _a lot_ : it was the time of the year when the heroes celebrated summer, and Kiran liked it, because it was a relaxing situation for them, a well-earned rest between the fights and everything.

Still, it was tiring. Exhausting.

Kiran breathed in and out a couple of times. They didn’t exactly know how to… do thing. It was just something that they seemed to know, that was all. It was hard to explain how everything appeared on their mind when it was time, how they just raised their arm, called a name, and summoned. It was as if they had been born to do… this thing.

And the summoner liked it, being honest. The heroes looked at them with a warmth that they had never experienced in the place from where they came, and maybe they had been called upon to this land by some weird destiny thing, but they wouldn’t have it any other way.

They inhaled. It was time to work, enough thinking for today. Letting the air go, Kiran looked at their wish list: heroes would come to them asking for friends, family, some even for rivals and enemies, and then Kiran would try to summon them. It didn’t always work, but it was indeed easy to call a hero when more people were thinking about them, calling them with their heart.

The first name was… Corrin. Kiran believed that it was Azura who asked for them. Or, well, little Azura, because at the side of the name there was written a little ‘please, I miss them’.

Kiran stepped into the summoning altar, feeling the power and emotion building at the bottom of their heart. It was time. And it was always warm there, but a cold claw took grip of their heart too. Something was going to happen. So they breathed in, out, and raised Breidablik, its familiar weight sending a wave of strength through their body. They smiled and, straightening their back, they called: “Come with us, Corrin!”

Their words turned into a powerful call when they shot at the stone on the summoning altar, repeating a mantra in their mind: _Corrin, hero born in Hoshido, raised in Nohr, please, answer Azura’s call.”_

The stone received the impact, and the familiar smoke of summoning came. Kiran stepped back a few steps, and when the light came from the altar, they raised their arms to cover their face and eyes. As wind played with their coat and hair, their heartbeat against their heart followed the rhythm of a fire they couldn’t name.

Someone was in front of them, Kiran realized, when they heard another breathing. And as they lowered their arms, the summoner smiled: it was a manakete, judging by its shadow. And when the smoke dissipated, Kiran recognized Corrin among the silhouette.

“Welcome, hero,” they saluted, taking another step… before stopping. There was something wrong. “You stand now in the lands of Askr.”

Corrin, who was covering his face with his hands, looked at Kiran… and a familiar feeling of sadness took grip of their mind when they realized the gaze Corrin was giving them: it was like Ashnard’s eyes, red, full of power and strength that none could control.

“I’m Corrin…,” he answered, and Kiran realized that he looked like he was trying _hard_ to hold their gaze. “L-let me warm you. Terrible impulses stir me, some may be… unable to keep in check…”

Corrin shuddered with a growl of pain, and Kiran’s heart fell to a dark void.

* * *

There was a knock on their room, and a soft “Can I?” said with Líf’s voice, resonated. Kiran growled something that they hoped to sound like a _yes_ , and apparently it did, because Líf soon stepped into their room: since being summoned, Líf liked to expend all of his time between the summoner and Thrasir. Sometimes it looked like they were protecting Kiran maybe too much, but Kiran liked it: his presence was strong, relaxing. And he was, too, a good listener.

Líf closed the door, and sat down on the bed alongside Kiran. The mattress sank under his familiar weight, but the summoner didn’t care. “Another one?” he asked, soft, more stating a fact than asking a question.

“Their month already passed by,” Kiran answered, growling against a pillow. “I summoned Lyon, and Ike soon followed. It was supposed to be enough with him.”

“You also summoned princess Veronica, and it wasn’t their month either,” Líf said, saying something that Kiran already knew, but hearing it in his voice was helpful. “It has happened more than once to you. To summon someone when they’re not meant to hear the call. It’s quite uncommon, but…”

“But if a hero is really wanted here by other heroes, it can happen,” Kiran finished, sighing as they took the pillow from their face to look at Líf. His gaze was tender, and it helped them to calm a bit. “And both Corrins are quite loved, aren’t they? No wonder prince Corrin came, even considering his… particular circumstances.”

“Yes, they are.” Líf’s mask covered his mouth, but his eyes narrowed. Kiran knew that he was smiling. “It reminds me of a certain someone.”

“Oh, yeah? I would like to hear about them said someone in a future, maybe we would get along.” Líf laughed, and the hoarse sound of his chuckle allowed Kiran to smile. “Where’s Azura?”

“Princess Fjorm is keeping an eye on her, and she told me to come for you.” Kiran raised from the mattress to sit alongside Líf on the edge of the bed. He moved his cape to cover them with it: it was warm, and it never failed to help them feel safe. “Azura insist on wanting to talk with Corrin.”

Kiran sighed, waiting a little before giving voice to their thoughts. The summoner hated that heroes had to suffer _this_ : in the chronicles, they all passed through hell and worse, and this world was supposed to give them hope, to give them a chance. To summoner them at their lowest point was hard, almost unfair, but they had yet to realize how, or even _if_ they were able to choose whom to summon… or in which circumstance.

“Do you think they’ll be okay? Someday?” Kiran asked, surrounding Líf’s body with one arm in a half hug, resting their face on his chest.

“I don’t know,” he answered, sincerely, shocking his head against their hair. But then, Líf’s chest vibrated when he spoke again, this time, with a happier, more hopeful tone: “But I guess we can try. There must be a way. And if someone is going to find out how, I’m sure it’s going to be you.”

The summoner sighed once more, but now a smile pulled up their lips as they nodded against his body before raising from the bed. Líf soon followed, and Kiran had to hold back a laugh, as always, when they realized how short they were compared to him. It somehow made them feel even more safer in his presence.

“Then let’s go,” Kiran said, nodding. “We have a dragon to help.”

* * *

“Why are you all here? Leave me alone.”

“Corrin, we want to help you,” Kiran answered, soft, but refusing to step back, even when Corrin glared at them from his position. “We can just…, allow us. Azura can help you too, right?”

The little girl, small in Líf’s arms by their side, nodded slowly, staring at Corrin. Líf was looking at him too, and it was hard to decipher what he was feeling, but Kiran believe that they were ready to fight if needed. And as the summoner looked back to cross looks with Fjorm, in the rear alongside Julia and Seliph, one of Kiran’s worries left their shoulders. In the worst scenario, they would be alright.

“You… don’t want to hear me sing?” said Azura, her little voice full of… sadness.

Corrin caught their attention once more when he growled. Sitting down in the middle of a little lake that rain from the past night created, he looked at Azura, and while a spark of hope illuminated his dark gaze, he still looked unsure. Kiran couldn’t blame him: he knew the older Azura, not the one they had there, but that Azura was out in a mission. Besides, it had been little Azura the one who called for him.

“It’s… not that…”

Azura frowned, seeming confused, and looked up at Líf, a silent beg on her eyes. He looked at her before staring at Kiran, but the summoner nodded, staying alert: after hesitating a little more, he left Azura back in the ground, his hand going straight for Sokkvabekkr, ready to act.

If Azura realized, she didn’t comment on it: she walked towards Corrin, her little steps splashing water as she walked, all of her movements stared at by Líf, Corrin and Kiran. The summoner recognized in her young eyes an idea, but if anything were to go wrong, they were going to have to make a move. Kiran shuddered: it wouldn’t be the first time they had to fight an ally, but the remorse and guilt never failed to appear at the mere thought.

“You’re not the Corrin of my dreams,” she said. It wasn’t a question: it was a fact.

“I’m… sorry…” Corrin answered, looking a little confused. Kiran was, too: what did Azura meant? “For everything.”

“You’re a grown-up, aren’t you?”

“If I’m… what?”

Azura raised her hands. Corrin tensed up, and Líf leaned ready to step in and make a move, but Kiran extended a hand to stop him, guided by an instinct and the sincere wish for things to go right. It worked: Azura rested her hands in Corrin’s cheeks, holding his face, and the dragon didn’t attack.

“Please…, stand tall.”

Kiran smiled.

Corrin, even on his knees, was as tall as young Azura, and yet he looked up at her as if she was wiser, stronger, better. More powerful than him. And he may have not realized, but he stopped trembling.

“Azura, I…,” Corrin tried to look down, but Azura’s hands kept him in position. “I’ll hurt you if you stay here too much. Please, flee. I…, I don’t want to-“

“Don’t be scared.” Azura almost sounded angry. “The Corrin in my dreams…, they’re nice. Brave. They protect me. You are like them, so you will… protect me too, right?”

Corrin took air to answer, but Azura was faster: she hugged him, surrounding his neck with her skinny arms, hiding her face on his neck. And Kiran failed to hear what she said to him, but Corrin’s gaze getting blurry thanks to tears was all that they needed. Sighing, Kiran looked back at Líf and nodded, receiving and sending the message of peace.

Hesitating, Corrin lifted his hands and surrounded Azura with his arms to reciprocate the hug. And he held her close, but soft, in case she wanted to step back, and there was no strength or raw power on the hug. Because he was in control.

“I’ll stay here with you for a bit longer…, if you want me to…,” said now Azura, as Kiran stepped closer, Líf ever so vigilant by their side.

The dragon prince looked up at Kiran, a question in his eyes. The summoner nodded, and without using their voice, only moving their lips, they said, ‘you got this’. Corrin smiled, resting his cheek in Azura’s hair, breathing deep in. His arms surrounded the girl’s body like a wall of protection, ready to die for her, no danger at sight… for now.

“No matter what form I take, I will never harm you.” Those words were meant for Azura, but Corrin’s eyes still held Kiran’s gaze. “I promise.”

Kiran nodded. “I believe you.”

“Me too,” Líf murmured. Judging by his warding stance, he did not believe him in the slightest, but Kiran doubted that Corrin cared about that. And it was almost easy to believe in Líf when he nodded, a strong and secure move. “You’ll be good. Do not worry.”

Corrin sighed, as if free of a weight that none but him could understand, and nodded before closing his eyes once more to focus on the hug he shared with Azura, the little girl humming something, a melody well known. Líf surrounded Kiran’s shoulders in a side hug, still staring at Corrin, and the summoner managed to relax between his gentle, protective touch, and Azura’s soft voice. They were going to be okay.

Just for that moment in time, Kiran allowed themselves to concentrate only on the way wind played with theirs and Líf’s coat, carrying Azura’s voice and, just maybe, Corrin’s worries also vanishing with the breeze. Tomorrow they could try to find a way to help him and the rest of fallen heroes, but today, Kiran focused on just being there. And they hoped that was enough.

**Author's Note:**

> Feel free to follow me on Twitter as @sigulinde!!


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